BRADFORD Council has been accused of "unreasonable behaviour" over its decision to refuse plans for a wedding and banqueting venue.

Late last year planning officers refused permission for the conversion of Westfield House, the former Grattan catalogue shop on Ingleby Road, into an Asian wedding venue.

Officers said the new business would have inadequate parking facilities, would cause an increase of traffic to the site, and "would lead to noise and general disturbance for neighbouring residential properties."

But now applicant Mohammed Tayyab has appealed against the Council's decision, meaning a government inspector will have the final say over whether the development can go ahead.

One of the reasons given for the appeal is "unreasonable behaviour by planning," with the applicant saying they did everything possible to prove the plans met the correct planning criteria.

The appeal form accuses the Council of ignoring its own specialists and policies, which they say did not show the proposed parking was inadequate or that there would be a problem with excess noise.

They also accuse the Council of raising highways concerns at the last minute and just before Christmas.

It was the second time such an application has been refused for that site.

24 Bradford Council planning decisions successfully appealed

The appeal report says: "The Highways consultation response, which contradicted the applicant’s earlier understanding, was posted in the last week before the Christmas.

"When the agents spotted this and attempted to resolve the misunderstanding, and asked that a decision not be taken until at least a discussion had been held this was ignored.

"Overall the scheme will bring a large unused building back into life, and re-energise this area of the Bradford community. It will provide additional employment, and an attractive venue on the west of Bradford.

"The developers have shown considerable patience in working with the planners to produce a viable and attractive solution.

"There is a good supply of parking available within the car park and the highway assessment confirms that it will not cause highway problems. The acoustic report, together with the council’s ability to impose conditions on any consent, shows the ability to safeguard the residential amenity of local people."

The appeal says the applicant has shown ""flexibility" and made major amendments to its original application, including reduced opening hours, reducing banqueting to one floor of the building and removing a restaurant from the design.

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: “We approach every application in a fair and even-handed manner.

“For this application, our highways officers judged the proposed use for the site would result in greater on-street car parking and vehicle manoeuvring near to two junctions on a busy road and this would create highways safety concerns.

“The planning appeal process allows for the applicant to appeal any decision and an independent planning inspector will review the case and decide the case on its merits.”

A decision will be made by a government planning inspector at a future date.